Thoughts of dying teammate never far from players' minds

It takes a steely resolve, though, to get through even a routine practice.

''I thought it would be the worst workout that you could have,'' coach Van Chancellor said Tuesday, the day after the Comets' emotional 80-71 victory over Utah in which Cynthia Cooper scored 42 points. ''Then Cynthia came out here with a spirit, a get-up-and-go and it kind of carried over to everybody.''

Perrot, who has cancer, remained on life support at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Cooper, her close friend, has played with a fervor that not only has inspired her teammates but kept them focused.

On Monday night, she finished two points shy of her career high, going 11-of-18 from the field.

Her intensity broke once, at the game's end, when she fell sobbing into the arms of her teammates.

''It was extremely hard, and I really miss Kim,'' she said Monday night, before leaving to visit Perrot in the intensive care unit.

The 32-year-old Perrot was diagnosed last January with a type of lung cancer that hits younger, non-smokers. The Lafayette, La., native was told that the unchecked cancer had spread to her brain.

She had surgery Feb. 24 to remove a golf ball-sized brain tumor and followed up with months of radiation therapy which arrested four smaller tumors in her brain.

Perrot was advised by doctors to undergo chemotherapy to stem the cancer growth in her lungs. Instead, she sought treatment in Mexico, leaving for Tijuana in late May, then again last month.

Cooper flew there twice this past month to be with Perrot.

Perrot's family decided to bring the point guard back to Houston when her condition worsened, arriving in Texas last Saturday. Since then, friends, family, teammates and Chancellor have taken turns staying with her.

Playing hard, winning and dreams of a third straight WNBA championship remain on the team's mind, but Perrot's plight is never far away.

''This team has an idea of what they want to do and that's to win a championship and we're not going to let anything hinder us from doing that,'' forward Tammy Jackson said. "In Kim's case, she would want us to come out here and practice hard and win the game. What you're supposed to do. If we do anything less than that then we're not doing what we're supposed to do, and we're hurting the team and we're disappointing the person who is hurting.''